Fuel prices spur call for probe - Hike blamed on strikes, Iraq tension

www.greenbaypressgazette.com Posted Mar. 08, 2003 By John Dipko Press-Gazette Madison bureau, jdipko@greenbaypressgazette.com

MADISON — Concern about rising gasoline prices has sparked a three-state request to look at whether fuel wholesalers and retailers are cashing in on tensions in the Middle East.

Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager and her counterparts in Iowa and Illinois asked the Federal Trade Commission in writing Friday to study whether gasoline wholesalers or retailers in the region are raising fuel prices to record highs to take advantage of the situation in Iraq.

The letter to FTC Chairman Timothy Muris notes the American Automobile Association has accused some wholesalers or retailers of coming dangerously close to price gouging.

“I am urging the FTC to take action now to protect Wisconsin consumers,” Lautenschlager said. “While there are complicated factors driving the cost of gasoline, we must draw a clear line between free market fluctuations and out-and-out price-gouging at the pump, which we will not tolerate.”

Gasoline prices in the Green Bay area average about $1.75 per gallon of regular unleaded, up significantly from a year ago.

But Robert Bartlett, president of the Petroleum Marketers Association of Wisconsin, said it appears Lautenschlager’s advisers are unaware of fundamental market forces at work in the industry.

Bartlett said crude oil prices were $36.76 a barrel at the end of February, which is $14.39 more than the $22.37-per-barrel price a year earlier. Tensions in the Middle East and strikes in Venezuela have sent crude oil prices skyrocketing, he said.

“Retailers, just like consumers, are taking it on the chin right now,” Bartlett said. “Many retailers are reporting to me that they’re having a record unprofitable year, and many small retailers are financially very distressed at this point. So we resent any notion being promoted that implies Wisconsin retailers are taking advantage of consumers.”

Price-gouging at Wisconsin gasoline pumps occurred in the days following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when state officials took some 2,000 calls about gas stations charging top dollar for fuel.

Saving gasoline

The state Division of Trade and Consumer Protection urges consumers to use these tips to save money on gasoline purchases: • Easy does it. Fast acceleration and braking waste fuel and can lower your mileage by as much as 33 percent. • You don’t get any miles to the gallon when your car is idling. Drive immediately instead of letting the car warm up. Combine errands and avoid making lots of short trips. • If your owner’s manual recommends regular, don’t buy premium, which is 14 percent more expensive. • Check your car’s air filter. If it’s clogged, your fuel consumption can spike by up to 10 percent. • Check tire inflation. Just one tire under-inflated by 2 pounds results in a 1 percent increase in fuel consumption, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. • Travel light. Remove roof storage boxes and bicycle racks when not in use. Even when empty, they produce a drag that reduces mileage. • Call the Division of Consumer Protection at (800) 422-7128 if you think you’re not getting what you pay for at the gas pump.